Personal

Before I started working in technical writing, I was an academic specializing in Renaissance English literature. I got my PhD at Ohio State. If you’re having trouble sleeping, you can read my dissertation.

As you might expect from someone who studied literature, I like to read a lot. I still read Renaissance literature occasionally — Edmund Spenser and John Milton are still among my favorites. I’ve also come to really enjoy the work of Marcel Proust. Beyond “highbrow literature”, I read widely in sociology, politics, natural history, music, and popular science. This, this, and this are a few books I read recently and enjoyed.

During the pandemic, a friend introduced me to fly fishing, which has become a big part of my life. I try to spend at least a couple days a month on a river — even in the winter. Here’s a photo of me on the Au Sable River in Michigan in December. It was a very brisk 29°F with a wind chill of 6°! And, alas, no fish that day to offset the bitter cold.

I also like spending time with my family. My wife Nadia and I have been married for about six years. We recently bought kayaks and we’ve been enjoying taking them out on the local waterways.

We also have a pug named Maple, who likes to think of herself as a guard dog. In truth, she’s better at sleeping than she is at scaring away the mailman and local joggers. Occasionally, she’ll take a break from her busy life to pose for a photo.